


Here For A Reason - Part 10

by LoveYourArtFriend



Series: Here For A Reason [10]
Category: American (US) Actor RPF, Captain America - All Media Types, Chris Evans - Fandom, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Romance, Steve Rogers Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2020-05-07 18:46:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19215349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoveYourArtFriend/pseuds/LoveYourArtFriend





	Here For A Reason - Part 10

“All I want to do is go……..in...side! Why won’t you just let...me….....in!” she mocked as she beat down the small group of HYDRA agents that came at her from the west.

“Well, they’re not very hospitable, are they!” he jested through the comms as he approached the German compound from the south. “I’m in. What’s your ETA?”

“Geez, Steve,” she whined, “did all the agents just scatter on your side? I think I got the raw end of this deal,” she huffed as she hit the guard on the head with the butt of her gun. “I’m at the East gate. I’ll be right there.”

Steve smiled at her words as she came around the corner. “To be honest, (f/n), I…..”

“Don’t even start with me, Rogers,” she smirked as she mumbled her annoyance under her breath. “You haven’t even broken a sweat, jerk.”

“Did you say something?” he bantered.

“Nope, not a thing,” she retorted as she wiped the sweat off her forehead with her sleeve.

“You’re beautiful,” he placed his hand on her cheek, “even if you’re sweaty and probably stinky.”

“I don’t think I like you right now,” she pouted.

Steve chuckled as he turned and broke the lock off the door with his shield. A swift kick detached the door from its hinges and allowed them access to the compound. She followed his lead as they darted through the halls to the computer hub. “Where is everyone? Thought our cover was blown outside.”

“It was but we’re below the main level so there’s still time ‘til we’re found,” she spoke in her professional, tactical voice. 

“Just be quick,” he reminded as he was on the lookout for her while she hacked into the system. 

She gained access to the intel that would put them closer to finding the locations of facilities performing enhancement experiments. All she could figure was that their computers had a failsafe and once she completed the download, an EMP pulse shot through the facility. The comms squealed into their eardrums, fried from the electrical current. “Woah,” she blurted as she ripped the unit from her head. At this point, all she could hope was that there was a safeguard on the memory stick in her pocket. “We’re here for a reason and I think that reason just got pulsed,” she muttered to herself.

“Ready?” He asked as he appeared at the door.

“Yeah. Did you feel the EMP? Everything’s fried.”

“Yup, come on, we’ve got to go. I heard yelling from down the hall.”

She led the way out the south side of the building then bolted toward the forest ahead of Steve, darting for the clearing deep within the trees that housed the Quinjet. It was then that their escape went awry. Gunshots could be heard and an amazingly close bullet whizzed by her head, halted by the nearest tree. She reached for her gun and tried to fire back when her clip clicked the disturbing notification that it was empty.

“Shit.” She padded her belt, feeling for another clip.

At that exact moment, an artillery missile landed behind Steve, flinging his body forward and propelling his shield somewhere in the woodlands. She turned around when she heard the blast and when the dust settled, saw him trying to pull himself from the ground. “Oh shit!” She ran and slid to his side to assess the damage, but the enemy was coming and she had to be fast. His back was torn up from the shrapnel, her hands wanting to do triage, but there was no time. He insisted he could still function so she helped him up and they ran further into the forested area.

“Where's your shield?”

“I don't know,” he hissed as pain was setting in. “We don't have time to look for it. Do you have any ammo left?”

“No, I'm out.”

“Wait…….,” Steve blurted as he heard a familiar sound, stopping their movement to listen. “Incoming,” he yelled. It was then that devastation became reality - the Quinjet ripped apart, exploded right before their eyes. He turned his body into hers and slammed her to the ground, covering her as best he could. They were close enough to feel the heat as it raged across his back, singeing his wounds before it crossed over her semi exposed skin that peeked out from beneath his body. It was too late to block her face, but she instinctively did it anyway as she moved her hand in front of her. Her cheek and forehead developed the equivalent of a bad sunburn and the skin on the back of her hand blistered. Her sensitive ear singed and some of her exposed hair around it burned away. He growled and shook through the pain as she screamed into his shoulder.

The harrowing moment passed and they were left panting on the ground. “Oh my God!” she shook with shock. She felt his tense body on top of her. “Steve, Honey, can you move at all? We have to go. They're still coming.”

He grit his teeth to fight through the pain and finally turned his head toward her. “I'll be okay,” he breathed as he started to roll off her body.

“Liar,” she jested. All she could smell was burnt flesh as they both started to slowly move. “Careful,” she held his arm steady so he didn't topple over. She got up and tried to help him to his feet. 

Once he was upright, he did a visual check and cringed at the sight of her burns. “Oh Sweetheart,” he stated, sadly.

“We don't have time for me, Steve. Everything we had was in that jet. We have nothing and we need to leave, now!” At that point, he knew her adrenaline had kicked in so he grabbed her free hand and started to sprint, taking advantage of the energy she still had left.

They fled deeper into the mountainous Black Forest and hoped HYDRA wouldn’t catch up but their confidence level was low after everything S.H.I.E.L.D. was destroyed. With no weapons or communication, their escape seemed futile. HYDRA agents covered more ground as they spread out with motorcycles and artillery vehicles. She and Steve couldn't shake them. No matter what direction they went, they were still fired upon.

After what seemed like an eternity of running on uneven ground and jumping downed trees, Steve thought he saw a quick escape, a hideout to temporarily save them. “(F/n), go east,” he yelled behind him. He changed his direction and she followed suit. He was well ahead of her, constantly scoping the terrain when he pointed to a heavy brush area. She watched him slide between two thick bushes.

“Oh God, who knows what's behind there,” she muttered to herself but she trusted him. Gunfire still nagged at her from behind so she braced herself and dropped down to slide. She wanted to close her eyes but instinct kept them open, and for good reason, the brush covered a cliff. She slid through and immediately felt the ground disappear.

“Noooo!” she screamed as her body shot past the ledge. Her arms frantically tried to grab anything that stuck out from the hillside when a hand grabbed her burned arm, causing her to swing inward and slam into the rocky wall.

“I’ve got you,” he assured as he hung from a branch with one hand, forcefully holding her until she could secure herself. Pain seared through her hand as she tried to get her footing along the wall. Within seconds, she heard agents above her. “Stay still,” Steve whispered, his grip never loosened. They hung there, snug against the hillside and listened and waited. She heard them break through the brush, their voices loud and angry. She didn't know what they were saying but she figured they had quickly scanned the bushes and moved on. The noise from their vehicles began to fade and made it safe to move when suddenly, Steve's branch cracked. 

Her eyes shot up to him in panic, “We're too heavy.” She scrambled to find her footing but there was nothing. “Steve!” she begged as she looked back up.

He scanned their surroundings, finding a ledge quite a distance below her but decided it was too risky to let her drop. Looking around, Steve spotted a small hollow cavern in the mountain wall with the tiniest of ledges protruding from its base. The only issue... it was behind him. “Okay, you're going for a ride,” he smirked.

She noticed his target and shot back at him, “That branch will break if you start swinging me. Don't do it!”

Steve wasn't going to let her fall so he grit his teeth and started to make her a human pendulum.

“Oh shit!” she exclaimed.

It only took two full swings before he was ready to fling her and she was petrified. On his release, he twisted his body, aimed her toward the hollow and let go. She flew up and landed on the ledge, sliding into the inner wall of the hollow whilst Steve's branch snapped. 

She immediately got up and crawled back to the edge. Her breath caught in her throat as she witnessed him dangling by his fingertips from the ledge below. His feet were trying to find their footing and after several attempts, he reached a small divot to his right and was successful in starting to ascend up the mountainside. 

His muscles flexed as he pulled and shimmied his way up and over. She hung over the edge, reaching out to help him. When he made it over the lip, they looked at each other for a moment before she flopped onto her back and Steve rested on his stomach.

“Now what the Hell are we going to do,” she commented, more so than asked.

Steve raised his head and slowly rose from the ground. He crawled over to her and wrapped an arm around her body. How he had the strength to pull her further into the small cave was unknown. He made sure they were out of the line of sight before he removed his helmet and brought his body next to hers. He put his hand on her unscathed cheek, turning her to face him. His lips met hers with a slow kiss that carefully trailed down her jawline. The sun had already set and he placed his head comfortably on her chest. He then wrapped his arms securely around her body. “We're going to go to sleep,” he mumbled then quietly finished with a whisper, “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she breathed into his hair as the sky rapidly darkened and the cool night air pulled them both into a hard slumber.

At the rise of a new sun and the cool freshness of the morning air, freaky, ravenous vultures circled outside their tiny cave. The squawking woke her from her sleep. If burned and blistered flesh instinctively attracted them, it was not a good thing. “Steve,” she gently ran her hand through his hair and kissed the top of his head. Neither of them had moved while they slept and his head still rested on her chest. He groaned to acknowledge he was starting to wake. “We have to go, Steve, it's the birds.”

“That was just a movie,” he mumbled.

She chuckled, realizing he had caught himself up to the 1960’s cinematic era. “Yes, but the birds outside of this cave are going to give away our location. We have to get out of here.” 

He pulled his body from hers and crawled to the ledge to look at the surroundings. Other than the birds, he thought it was peaceful. He could hear something in the distance, a rumble, but it didn’t sound like vehicles. Looking up, he noticed the dark clouds approaching from the south. Thunder. That’s what it was. “Well, either Thor is coming for a visit or we’ll be getting a thunderstorm shortly.” Spits of rain started to fall and the birds made their way elsewhere. Steve backed himself into the cave and within minutes, the rain fell a little harder and the clouds gradually covered the sun. It was a done deal, they weren’t going anywhere.

While he faced away from her, she took note of his back. She couldn’t stand not being able to touch it. It looked so painful and she knew she had to try and pull the fabric away from the tears in his skin and get it cleaned up. He would heal quickly and hopefully not scar, but her burns would be a different story.

She crawled forward and put her burnt hand into the falling water and kept it there as the soothing temperature alleviated the sting she had been feeling since the day before.

Steve came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Water feel good?”

“Yeah.”

He cupped his hand in the cool rain then placed it over her burnt cheek, the excess water dribbled down her neck. “Thank you but I need to take care of your back,” she said as she turned on her knees to face him. She raised her hands up his chest and unbuckled the holster, revealing the hidden zipper to his uniform. She slowly slid the zipper down its track to his waist where it was blocked by the utility belt. Her eyes looked up to his before she smirked and unhooked the belt. “You’re enjoying this now, but you won’t be in a few minutes,” she chuckled.

“Then let me enjoy it,” he slid his hands back around her waist and pulled her body into his. He wasted no time pressing his lips to hers. She hesitated because she wanted to help him, help his wounds, but when his hand reached up and held the back of her head, she caved. He knew she could never resist the feel of his soft lips, the touch of his hands or the slight moan that escaped him when he made contact with her. He loved her, immensely. The rest of the team knew they were the perfect match and figured an engagement ring would soon make an appearance.

“Steve”, she pulled away, reluctantly. “Honey, I really want to get your back cleaned up.” He pouted, knowing he would never be able to curb her insistent nature. She opened the top of his suit and slid her hands up along his shirt to his shoulders, feeling his muscular chest along the way. Her hands lifted the suit off his shoulders and ever so slowly peeled it down his back, releasing his arms. He only flinched once and she whispered her apology. Steve kissed her forehead and gave her a loving look that said it was okay. She held his arms and motioned for him to turn around. When he did, she was taken aback as to how many bits of shrapnel shot through his uniform and shirt, then into his skin, staining the fabric red. “I have to get your shirt wet.” She noticed a depression in the cave’s ledge that housed the cool rain water in a puddle. She cupped the liquid in her hands and poured it over his back several times before it was saturated. “Are you okay?”

“It feels good,” he answered.

She unsnapped a small pouch on her belt and pulled out a pair of tweezers from the tiny tool kit she carried. She apologized again before starting to gently pull his shirt away from each wound, being careful with the singed skin and picking metal pieces out if they weren’t too deep. Her face cringed every time she salvaged the scrap metal and watched fresh blood rise to the surface.

“That’s all I can get until you take your shirt off.” After carefully pulling the shirt tail out from his uniform, she gently slid her hands under and slowly pulled the fabric away from his back, bringing it up to his shoulders for him to remove. She examined each lesion again and determined she could do no more. She doused his back one last time and gently cleaned off any remaining blood. “There,” she concluded, “it looks a lot better.” She ran her hands across the top of his shoulders and down his arms. He loved her gentle touch, it sent a shiver down his spine. She kissed his shoulder and crawled around him, back inside their nook.

“I want to take care of those burns. They’ve blistered,” Steve insisted as he set his shirt aside and wriggled back into the top of his uniform.

“But there’s literally nothing you can do,” she replied, sadly.

Steve admitted his defeat with a sigh, knowing their location could do nothing for her. His face reflected the frustration of not being able to help her, “Then come on over here and put it in water again, okay Love?” 

She smiled at his term of endearment as she scooted toward him and held her arm toward him. “You got that from my parents,” she beamed.

“I did,” he smiled back, proudly. He cupped his hand and pooled the cool water from the overflowing puddle. Gently pouring the water over her hand, he watched her face for a reaction. Nothing. He repeated himself and accumulated another palmful of water but let her tilt her ear into his hand, allowing the singed skin to feel the cool liquid. “It must hurt.”

“It’s fine.”

“Liar,” he retorted with a smirk as he knew she would never say how much pain she was in. He kissed her lips then said, “We’ll be okay, (f/n), I promise.”

“I know,” she answered quietly. He started to kiss her again and she ran her free hand through his hair. She could feel his lips grin against hers as his hand slowly pulled at the zipper on the front of her uniform. Quickly grabbing his hand, she pulled away from the kiss. “What are you doing?” she asked playfully.

“You got to see my burns, I should get to see yours,” he flirted.

“You just did and except for my hand, they’re all above the neck line, Goof!” she laughed. She had seen his strikingly muscular body before in just the biker shorts he wore under his uniform. Months ago they returned from a mission together and had to go through a quarantine scrub down, with Steve in his shorts and her in her bra and underwear, but that was it. As a couple, they hadn’t yet gone beyond that visual, as comfortable as they were around each other. That didn’t mean they never thought about it.

He chuckled as she pulled away, sticking her head into the rain to drink water from the filled puddle. She rose up, “At least we have water while it rains. After this, we have nothing.”

~~~~~~

There were no heat signatures inside or anywhere in the surrounding area so they blew the enemy compound. “I don’t understand where everyone went. This place was supposedly crawling with HYDRA.”

“I’ve located the jet,” Nat announced as she pointed past Clint. He flew toward the black box ping that she was tracking from (f/n) and Steve’s Quinjet, unprepared for the sight they were about to see.

“Holy shit!” Clint yelled. They stared with eyes wide and mouths agape as they landed next to the charred remains of their teammates’ jet. “I...oh my God, I really don’t want to go in there. What if they’re…….”

“They’re not, Barton, they’re not.”

“We don’t know that, Nat. They were supposed to be back almost three days ago and we find this?”

“Clint! Let’s just….check it out.”

As the duo approached the shell of the Quinjet, Clint held his breath, apprehensive about entering, not wanting to find his friends inside. They stepped in and within minutes were relieved that there were no human remains. Natasha found their phones, melted on the seats where (f/n) regretted leaving them after insisting to Steve that they didn’t need them.

“Well, now we know why we haven’t heard from them,” Natasha held them up to show Clint.

“Damn! Why didn’t they have those with them?”

Natasha exited the ruins and walked around the area. She examined the ground, the trees and scanned for any heat signatures as far as the sensors would reach. 

“Clint,” Nat called. He came over to her side. “Tire tracks….all going that way,” she pointed into the woods.

“This is going to be like finding a needle in a haystack. Let’s follow for a bit, but we may need to search from above, to cover more terrain,” he stated. 

~~~~~~

“This only happened two days ago. I’m jealous at how fast you heal,” she smirked, her hands finishing up the daily check on Steve’s back.

He smiled although she couldn’t see, “I kind of wish I didn’t.”

“What? That’s a weird thing to say.”

He turned to face her as she brought his uniform back up onto his shoulders and started to zip it up.

“Well,” he chuckled softly as his cheeks blushed a bit, “I’ll miss your touch.”

Her actions halted for a second as she turned her eyes up toward his. Her cheeks flushed as much as his as she resumed her task and started to fiddle with the holster.

He held her hands in his and leaned toward her lips. “Maybe you can keep checking for a while,” he smiled before placing his mouth on hers.

She pulled slightly away, “Someone definitely needs to make sure you heal properly,” she chuckled.

Steve realized he was holding her burnt hand and suddenly loosened his grip. “I’m sorry, I keep forgetting.” He brought his hand up to her face and turned to see her own burns. “I’m not sure what to make of these. I don’t want them to get infected.”

She sighed, “It’ll just have to run its course. There’s nothing you can do.” They still stung but she wasn’t about to tell him that. It would only make him feel worse so she decided to change the subject. “So, tell me again why we haven’t continued to try and get out of here?”

He looked at her in a puzzled manner, “Because you fell,” referring to the failed attempt from the day before.

“Oh no no, you’d better rephrase that, Rogers! I went up twenty feet and there were no more hand or footholds. You told me to let go and you’d catch me.” She put her hands on her hips in a playful, pissed off action.

“I will always catch you,” he ran his hand along the side of her face.

“Why can’t we try scaling downward?”

“Too dangerous. It’s much further going down and if something were to happen,” he trailed off, “I’d never forgive myself.” He pulled her tight into his body and held her. “They’ll be here, (f/n). They’ll find us, I promise.”

Her stomach growled, an obvious sign they hadn’t eaten in almost three days. He chuckled at the sound and invited her to sit with him, her body in front of his, looking out to the vast mountainous terrain. His large muscular arms wrapped around her shoulders as she leaned back into his chest. “Remember when I cooked my first meal for the team?”

“Mm hmm,” he kissed her good ear.

“Oh God, that seems like forever ago.” Steve smiled into her hair. “Mom was on the mend, up and about and Dad was still on bedrest. It was her recipe I used that day.”

“That meal was the best,” he commented at the memory.

“We were lucky to have a meal,” you laughed. “All those lovely smells wafted through the tower and I kept having unexpected guests show up, wanting to be my quality control taste testers. Tony was the best though, when he came onto my floor in one of his suits. He scared the shit out of me. His repulsors were drawn and told me to step away from the stove as it was a matter of national security that I urgently sample your cooking,’” she finger quoted in the air and lowered her voice to impersonate Tony. Steve to burst out laughing. “After that, I told JARVIS he would be reprogrammed as a doorbell if he let Tony step foot on my floor without permission.”

“Oh, that’s the best. Did you ever rescind that command?”

“Begrudgingly. It is his tower, after all,” you laughed while holding Steve’s hands that rested criss-cross above your chest. “I was so nervous to feed all you guys.”

“Oh my God, (f/n), you had nothing to worry about. You are a phenomenal cook.”

“Thank you. That meal was one of my favorites growing up - shepherd’s pie, soda bread, salad and the truffles…..oh good glory!”

“Let’s not talk about food….we’re too hungry.”

She chuckled, “I know, but I just wanted to say what the best part of that night was.”

Steve squeezed her tighter. “And what was that?” he asked, knowing what she’d say.

“It was when you put a tray of food together for Dad and together we went down to the Med Bay to be with him and help him eat.”

“I loved doing that,” he admitted. “Your father was amazing, considering everything that happened. I could tell he wanted to be sure his little girl was okay. He’s a doting father.”

She smiled, “He’s wonderful…..they’re wonderful,” she kissed his hands.

“I have the utmost respect for your parents.”

“They love you so much, Steve.”

“We’re due to Skype with them.”

“Yeah, we’ll have to do that when we get back,” she tilted her head into his neck and closed her eyes.

Laying his head back onto the rock wall, he too, closed his eyes. “That’s my girl…. ** _when_** we get back…. ** _when_**.”

~~~~~~

Clint and Nat made their way back to the Quinjet after only thirty minutes of searching on foot. It was apparent being airborne was going to be the best method of locating their teammates. 

“There’s no doubt they went into the woods as deep as they could,” Nat stated. “Long range sensors aren’t picking up heat signatures yet.”

“Yeah, but what direction?” Clint asked, sadly.

Nat sighed. “It’s going to take a while but let’s just find our friends, kay? I just really want them back.”

Clint nodded and proceeded to lift the Quinjet from the ground. They flew above the trees and scoped slowly, trying to locate Steve and (f/n)’s signatures in order to bring them home. Just seconds after liftoff, Natasha’s satellite view blipped and a target circled on the screen. “Got something,” she stated as she typed into the computer, honing in on the spot. 

“What is it?” Clint asked.

“It’s searching,” she looked at the screen as the circled area loaded the answer to her question. “Vibranium,” Nat responded. She and Clint looked at each other in shock, knowing exactly what it was and instantly mortified that it wasn’t with its keeper. She bolted from her seat and headed toward the hatch of the jet. “You have to lower the jet so I can get down there.”

“On it.” Clint hovered above the tree line as Natasha hooked the climbing rope to the jet and to her newly adorned harness. She punched the hatch release and waited for it to open enough for her to jump out. Clint pushed the slow release on the gear and Nat lowered down into the thick of trees. Once on the ground, she halted the gear and noticed the destruction. The artillery blast catapulted Steve’s shield through the trees, splitting two in half before resting vertically in the trunk of a third. “Raise me up. I need to climb about twenty feet,” Nat radioed up to Clint. He raised her and she stopped it at the right height so she was able to stand horizontally on the tree and place her feet on either side of the shield. Trying desperately to reef on the disk, it took a few moments of wiggling and rocking the vibranium against the tree to release the hold the forest had on the armor. “I am not giving up without a fight,” she warned when suddenly, the shield popped free, causing her momentum to swing out from the tree then back toward it. She kicked herself away from the forest giant and radioed, “I’ve got it. Bring me up!”

It had taken over two hours to reach the southern border, Clint and Natasha’s frustration deepend the longer the search continued. “I’ve got nothing. We’ll have to swing back north and east,” Natasha spoke, seemingly defeated in her search.

“No worries,” Clint responded. “North and east it is!”

The jet circled around and proceeded to cover ground throughout the eastern half of the forest. Within twenty minutes, Nat yelled, “Two heat signatures!” Her sudden outburst practically scared Clint out of his skin.

“Where?”

“Go East, way East.” Clint vered the jet toward the outer edge of the forest although the signatures were not quite at the eastern border.

“Shit, there are huge mountains over there.”

“That’s where we need to go.”

~~~~~~

He caressed her hair after he woke from his slumber, enjoying having her body lean against his and feel her soft movement with every breath she took. In an instant, he stopped stroking her hair and focused his hearing on something in the distance. She suddenly snapped awake and jolted herself from his grip. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“No, it’s okay, it’s wasn’t you.” She turned to face him, eyes wide, head tilted in concentration. “I hear a Quinjet!”

“I hear something, too. Are you sure it’s a Quin?”

“Positive. The turbofans give off a different sound pitch,” she concluded as she tried to get to her hands and knees. He held her good hand firmly enough to let her know he didn’t want her to move away from him.

“Let’s wait.”

She looked into his eyes and hesitated until she thought it through. “You’re right, it’s too far away.” She settled back into his lap, his arms snaked around her shoulders again and they sat and listened. “You know,” he broke the silence after a few minutes, “if it weren’t for having no food, water, hygiene items, showers or general mobility outside this little cave, it’s been really peaceful, just you and me.”

He felt her body vibrate with the quiet chuckle she emitted. “It was the perfect vacation,” she snickered. “I’ll really miss the natural rock bed at this resort and the low roofline. Room service needed work though.” Steve chuckled. “But,” she sighed heavily, “we have a mission to complete and I’m really hoping the data drive still contains the download, or else this was all for nothing.”

“Your brain never turns off, does it” he smiled into her hair. He gave her body a squeeze as they continued to sit in silence, mentally debating the distance of the Quinjet.

“Steve, it’s getting closer,” she fidgeted.

“Yup, agreed,” he released her and held her arm as she tried, again, to get to her hands and knees. She crawled to the far side of the cavern and grabbed her utility belt. She opened one of the pockets and pulled out a small flare gun. Another pocket held the flare. She crawled back to the lip of the cave, sat on her behind and looked up. Steve had shimmied over and sat with her. While they both gazed into the sky, she commented, “Everything’s going to go back to being hectic again.”

“I know,” he responded, sounding almost sad as he kissed her hair. She readied the flare and aimed straight above them, praying to the Gods that their friends would find them.

~~~~~~

“There!”

“I see it.” Clint brought the jet closer to the orange light that travelled above the treeline. “Okay, but there’s nothing there. The plateau just drops off,” he noted as he approached and saw the trees had a sharp cutoff with only distance between the ledge and the neighboring mountain.

“The signatures say they’re there. They’ve got to be hiding somewhere in that mass of trees and brush, underground maybe?”

“I can’t land,” Clint established. “I’ll circle around and maybe come at it from another angle.”

He flew the jet out over the ledge and that’s when Steve and (f/n) set eyes on their teammates. They started to wave their arms frantically as Natasha’s screen went crazy with beeps and red circle targets. “Turn this bird to the mountain,” she frantically insisted. Clint turned the jet and hovered as they desperately panned their eyes from the satellite image to the mountain. “Where? Are? You? Two?” Natasha chanted, anxiously.

“There!” Clint shouted. “Right there!” He spotted the movement like only Hawkeye could and vered the jet toward his found friends.

“Oh, thank God,” (f/n) stated in relief as she dropped her hands to her sides, knowing they were finally rescued. She turned and crawled back to retrieve her utility belt and Steve’s shirt as he stood and grabbed the upper rim of the cavern for support along the edge. He held out his hand to help her stand. She felt wobbly for a second but continued to hold Steve’s hand as the jet approached their position. Clint maneuvered the craft so the hatch faced the mountain and was opening up to allow Steve and (f/n) to step on. 

Natasha’s rushed to the back as her friends walked up the ramp. She held her arms out to (f/n), then noticed her burns, dirt and general dishevelment. “Thank God you’re okay, both of you.” She hugged her carefully then side stepped to Steve. Her eyes scanned him over and didn’t see as much on his body until she hugged him and felt the back of his uniform. “What the?” She spun him around and noticed the gashes in the fabric. 

“It’s fine, Nat. I’m almost healed. (F/n) will need medical attention though.”

Clint throttled the jet away from the mountain as (f/n) made her way over to the hatch release and pushed the lever up to raise the ramp. She looked at the cavern they inhabited for the last three days and watched it grow smaller as their distance grew. She couldn’t believe what she and Steve went through. As the ramp made its way to eye level, something caught her eye on the terrain above, close to where they slid through the brush. As she was squinting to make out the object, the hatch closed, causing her blink quickly and twitch her head to come back to reality. Scratching at a sudden itch on the back of her neck, she recognized she desperately needed a shower. It didn’t take her long to dismiss the black and silver image as a figment of her hungry and tired imagination.


End file.
